Analysis

While underscoring the importance of the separation of Church and State, James Madison had in view the gory history of Europe over the course of at least 18 centuries of political strife, horrifying torture and violence because of the unquestioned power of the church over the states and within the political systems of states.

This is now the default consensus of the corporate media, whether in its right-wing incarnations or of the variety posing on the liberal-left end of the spectrum like the Guardian. The people are stupid, and we need to be protected from their base instincts.

Imagine that back in the day, the U.S. government had contracted postal services out to a private company rather than setting up its own “public” agency. Today the U.S. Postal Corp. would have officers, directors, and employees who were not on the government payroll. They would be paid from the money raised by selling its services to the public and the government.

Even if the Saudi monarchy or Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in particular did not murder journalist Jamal Khashoggi, that regime is an especially evil one in both its domestic and international conduct.